Ghana, who have qualified for the last three World Cups, will begin their quest for a fourth straight appearance in Russia in 2018 with either Comoros or Lesotho.
The draw, which took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, determined the qualifying matchups for the African, North American, European, Oceanian and South American teams as they battle to become one of the 32 participants in world soccer’s most prestigious tournament.
Here is how the African preliminary rounds look:
Round one
Two-legged ties, played 5 October and 13 October.
Somalia v Niger, South Sudan v Mauritania, Gambia v Namibia, Sao Tome e Principe v Ethiopia, Chad v Sierra Leone, Comoros v Lesotho, Dijibouti v Swaziland, Eritrea v Botswana, Seychelles v Burundi, Liberia v Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic v Madagascar, Mauritius v Kenya, Tanzania v Malawi
Round two
Two-legged ties, played 9 November and 17 November.
Somalia/Niger v Cameroon, South Sudan/Mauritania v Tunisia, Gambia/Namibia v Guinea, Sao Tome e Principe/Ethiopia v Congo, Chad/Sierra Leone v Egypt, Comoros/Lesotho v Ghana, Djibouti/Swaziland v Nigeria, Eritrea/Botswana v Mali, Seychelles/Burundi v Congo DR, Liberia/Guinea-Bissau v Ivory Coast, Central African Republic/Madagascar v Senegal, Mauritius/Kenya v Cape Verde, Tanzania/Malawi v Algeria, Sudan v Zambia, Libya v Rwanda, Morocco v Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique v Gabon, Benin v Burkina Faso, Togo v Uganda, Angola v South Africa
The 20 winners from the second round will go into a third round comprising five groups of four. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup.